References from the field

Energy efficiency successfully implemented

The following examples show the cost saving potential of our energy efficient products, systems and solutions that can be obtained in specific applications. They also show how short the payback time can be when investing in leading-edge technology. These examples also show how they positively impact the energy costs of a wide range of companies.

An energy management system for 30,000 energy data trends

Chemical industry: Infracor GmbH Marl, Germany

For Infracor GmbH managing energy efficiently is a central function when it comes to supplying energy to the Marl Chemiepark. In this huge facility, the average demand of all of the plants is approximately 300 Megawatt of electric power and between 700 and 1100 tons of steam per hour. Three dedicated power stations with a total of five generating units and three 110 Kilovolt feeder stations from the public grid are used to supply this facility. Infracor has been using the b.data energy management system for eight years now in this remarkable energy environment. b.data is used to acquire and optimize the energy flows. Since it was introduced, b.data has been continually developed and expanded. Today, approximately 30,000 energy data trends are acquired, and when required, called up. In some cases, the archives go back over 15 years. This integrated and holistic perspective creates the basis for extensive optimization. Today, b.data is the central control tool for all energy planning processes relating to supply and disposal and allows the usage of all of the energy consumed to be optimized.

Soft starters reduce the operating costs by 20 – 25%

Water industry: Wastewater treatment plant Minden-Leteln, Germany

In order to reduce their energy costs, the company operating the Minden-Leteln wastewater treatment plant invested in a control for the new aerator turbines in order to avoid usage peaks as far as possible. Within the scope of the modernization, the electric turbine drives were equipped with 3RW44 soft starters and the supervisory control system upgraded to state-of-the-art technology using SIMATIC PCS 7. As a result of the modernization, the power used in the biological area of the wastewater treatment plant was reduced by 20–25%. In addition, the soft starter solution minimized the danger of failures as well as the gear unit service times. This investment paid for itself in a very short time and over the next 10 to 20 years, will play a role in significantly reducing the operating costs.

Efficient drive control saves 70,000 Swiss Franks – year in, year out

Pharmaceutical industry: DSM Nutritional Products AG, The Netherlands

The Dutch company DSM Nutritional Products AG replaced the fixed-speed pumps equipped with valve control by variable-speed pumps at their factory located in the Swiss Canton of Wallis. MICROMASTER 440 frequency converters, which are connected to the main control room in the factory via PROFIBUS, adapt the flow rate. The new solution not only allows the closed-loop control of the plant to be significantly increased, but also reduces the usage of primary energy. The expected cost savings are 70,000 Swiss Franks per annum.

Energy costs slashed by 3000 Euros per month using frequency

Oil and gas industry: Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH, Germany

In its large tank farm in Kaiserwörthhafen, Germany, Shell Deutschland no longer wanted to simply waste energy in mechanical valves. In order to ensure that the main diesel fuel pumps always operate at their optimum operating point, Siemens frequency converters each with a rating of 132 kW and 1LG4 motors for the redundant pump system were used. The SinaSave software clearly proved that the frequency converters had already paid for themselves after about 14 months. The plant has slashed its energy costs by 3000 Euros per month. An additional advantage is the fact that the various processes have been optimized and the stress on the piping network as a result of mechanical surges has been reduced. In turn, this has minimized maintenance costs and increased the plant availability.

35% energy cost saving through modernization

Supply and disposal utility: Stadtwerke Chemnitz, Germany

As a result of the fluctuating demand from the district heating station, the Stadtwerke Chemnitz (public utility in Chemnitz, Germany) planned to optimize the energy balance in its district heating station that supplies heating to the local community. The overdimensioned hot water circulating pump drives with fluid coupling were replaced by variable-speed drive systems based on rugged, high-efficiency N-compact low-voltage motors and the matching SINAMICS G150 frequency converters. The power costs for the hot water circulating pumps were reduced by about 35% by using variablespeed drive systems and the fact that it was no longer necessary to overdimension the motors. An additional advantage is the more precise closedloop flow rate control and operation with lower stress on the mechanical system as pressure surges have been eliminated.

Almost 20,000 Euros of cost savings per month by using frequency

Automobile industry: ALRO Group, Belgium

In its Genk plant, the Belgian Company ALRO investigated the energy-saving potential of pumps and fans for a painting system for automobile parts. Initially, a stochastic potential analysis was performed for all of the installed pumps and fans with a power rating of 5 kW or more – which were previously controlled with throttles and valves. These were then replaced by Siemens frequency converters. The analysis indicated that 19,870 Euros could be saved annually by using frequency converters for the 12 drives. The payback time is less than 1.5 years.

New wood chip heating system: Heating demand is covered 100% using

Public sector, Murimoos association, Switzerland

While renovating the heat and energy supply, the “Murimoos, werken und wohnen” association were looking for a leading edge control technology that could also control a new wood chip heating system with a thermal rating of 600 kW. The solution: A SCADA system based on SIMATIC WinCC, which controls all of the energy-producing systems and energy users. The optimum energy supplier is used depending on the actual situation, e.g. the availability of energy and the actual prices. The advantage of the new wood chip heating system: the wood waste from its own woodworking operations and the regional compost dump completely covers the heat demand without having to purchase any wood chips. Being able to substitute the heating oil not only had a positive financial impact, but emission values were also reduced.